Once that's done, the big question is "How do I plan my studies to pass the exams?", or "Can I complete studying for the CFA exam in X months?". The 'problem' with this question is that each individual should have their own optimal plan that suits their circumstances - there is no one-size-fits-all.

As we get these questions all the time, we've distilled my learnings and experience into this rough guide, a framework to guide you in constructing a solid CFA study plan. We've also developed a free tool that generates a personalized online study planner for you. Let's dive in!

Overview

I have discussed this framework more informally in the post about balancing CFA studies and work, but I hope this guide will give you a concrete method to come up with a tailor-made plan.

Our guide to CFA study planning has a two-prong approach:

Status Check - big picture check on available study time till exams based on your work/life commitments, checking if you're roughly on track, ahead of schedule, or need to do a bit of catch up

Detailed Check - a more detailed look to track your progress - highlighting important topics and readings you have yet to cover and allows you to effectively focus if you are pressed for time

Get a Personalized Free Online CFA Study Planner

We've developed a tool that we're sharing for free with our readers. This tool will generate a personalized CFA study planner that:

Shows you whether you're on-track with your CFA studies and all important dates

Show you where are the topics you should be focusing your time on, factoring in the amount of readingand actual exam weightings to really show you the most efficient topics to be addressing

With our online planner, you can check your study progress at any time, and see if you're on track to complete all your studies before your CFA exam day. ​

Benchmark Your Mock Exam Scores

Your mock exam scores will also be plotted along a benchmark to show you if your scores are trending comparatively well. This better informs you if your scores need improving, and helps reassure you if your scores are on a good trend.

As you progress in your studies, you get more data points on your productivity as well as areas you are weaker in. It shows your degree of completion by topic according to your target deadline, so you know when to increase your efforts before you run behind of schedule. The planner also factors in the amount of work and the exam weight of each topic in all its analyses to highlight the best topics to focus on.

Start early, but not too early. A good guide is 6 months before if you're on a demanding full-time job and only available to study on weekends; 4 months if you're a full time student, or increase that if you're factoring in a busy family schedule as well.

Leave the last month before exams for practice exams and last minute revisions.

Aim to have gone through the notes twice prior to the last month, if possible, or at least the sections you're having some trouble mastering.

What do you think? I hope you found this simple framework useful for your study planning, and that you now have your online planner to use. Share this with a friend who is revising for the CFA exams too!